Feds to refine plan on solar development zones

DENVER 
Federal officials are refining their plan for speeding up solar energy development in zones of public lands in six western states, after receiving about 80,000 comments on the plan, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Thursday.

In December, the Interior Department released a draft identifying 24 solar development zones in California, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona with the highest potential for large-scale solar development and the fewest environmental conflicts.

The Bureau of Land Management's deputy director of operations, Mike Pool, said Thursday he anticipates eliminating and reducing some zones but that he couldn't give specifics yet.

The thousands of comments and concerns on the proposal demonstrate high interest in what the Interior and Energy departments are doing on renewable energy, Salazar said.

"We've taken those comments into consideration. We are talking about institutionalizing a program on solar development that will outlast the Obama administration," he said in a teleconference with reporters.

"We're trying to establish a template that will provide a solid backbone for planning, for conservationists and developers alike," Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes said.

A supplement to the December draft, to be released this fall, would improve information on biological and cultural resources within the zones so sensitive areas can be avoided. It also will include a more robust analysis of transmission and address criteria for identifying future solar energy zones, incentives for placing projects within the zones, and handling projects proposed outside the zones, Pool said.

The supplement also will be open to public comments. A final decision is expected next year.

Separately, the BLM already is analyzing new potential solar zones as part of regional planning efforts such as the California Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, the West Chocolate Mountain planning effort in California and the Arizona Restoration Design Energy Project.

In a written statement, Solar Energy Industries Association President and CEO Rhone Resch praised the Obama administration's focus on advancing solar energy and said his group would push for a final plan that doesn't impose new regulatory burdens on project developers.

Meanwhile, representatives of Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources Defense Council said Salazar is taking a smart approach to encouraging "clean energy" projects while trying to find low-risk places for them.

However, Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development said hunters and anglers are concerned the outdoors industry could be affected if solar projects shrink wildlife habitat and water.

"We're concerned we'll repeat the mistakes we've had on oil, gas leasing," said Scott Belinda, a former BLM biologist who is now director of energy programs for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. "We don't want to see areas dedicated to renewable energy development and the development not happen."

Federal agencies have been mapping potential spots for developing different kinds of energy, he said. "If we don't coordinate that, we may not have any blank spots on the map left," Belinda said.

Also Thursday, Salazar announced approval of two solar projects and a transmission line in California, plus a wind project in Oregon, that involve roads, rights of way or transmission lines across public land. Together the projects would provide 550 megawatts of electricity - enough to power 185,000 to 380,000 homes - and create about 1,300 construction jobs, he said.